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Video Verification Relevance, Impact, & Use of Non-Video Confirming Data
Relevance
Is "video verification" only relevant for those who live in jurisdictions where a residential security alarm is insufficient to enable dispatch of police?
In jurisdictions where police will respond to an alarm notwithstanding the absence of visual confirmation of an intrusion, is there data showing that the response time is significantly slower than one might expect - and moreover, slower because of the absence of visual confirmation?
Impact
If "video verification" is selected:
- Does the monitoring center use video to decide whether to signal police at all? That is, if the alarm is triggered, but the available video shows no evidence of criminal entry, does the monitoring center then hold or cancel the alarm pending additional confirmation?
- If video verification is not used to determine whether police are notified of the alarm, is the video nonetheless examined before the alarm is sent onward to police?
- Does the monitoring center inform the emergency response center/dispatch of a lack of positive video verification of criminal entry? A message along the lines of "we have a security alarm triggered at X location - cameras on premises do not show indication of an intrusion."
- More generally, and with the understanding that this must vary, how precisely is an alarm signal communicated to emergency response? Interested to know extent to which contextual information is communicated.
Non-Video Data Points
Data other than video footage may increase or decrease the probability that a given alarm is false. The type of sensor triggered, whether multiple sensors are triggered, and the "alarm history" (recent false alarms, no recent false alarms, etc), whether the system is set on "Home" mode (in which case one would expect the primary contact(s) to confirm, very quickly, a false alarm, if a false alarm) vs "Away" mode, all seem likely to have some significance as factors. Is this data leveraged at all in jurisdictions that require or desire additional information beyond the fact of an alarm to appropriately calibrate the urgency and nature of the response?
emily_s
Community Admin
•
3.1K Messages
1 year ago
Hi @andycastle,
Video Verification is useful for all SimpliSafe users. It allows our monitoring center agents to view footage from your cameras to determine if an intruder is in your home - enabling quicker and more accurate police response. You can learn more about Video Verification in our Help Center, here.
To answer your other questions:
Non-video factors are not leveraged when an alarm goes off. Our monitoring agents treat all alarm events the same way. You can learn more about our different categories of alarms and what happens during the event of an alarm here.
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